Want to Buy Lifetime Disaster Insurance?

Senator Marco Rubio. (Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr)Let's say you're in your twenties, and just starting out in life. And one day an insurance salesman walks up to your doorstep, toting his briefcase and wearing a cheap suit and a loud tie. He rings the door bell, smiles like a televangelist, and says, "Have I got a deal for you!"

He's pushing a brand new insurance plan. He calls it "Lifetime Disaster Insurance."

"For the rest of your life, you'll be covered whether you're a teenager, in your twenties, thirties, whatever age," he says. "This insurance protects you against anything. If you're disabled in a car accident, a mugging, or any other sort of horror, this insurance policy will kick in and cover all of your medical expenses, your rent, food, and pretty much everything else from the time you're injured until the day you die, even if you live to 100!"

You look at him skeptically, but, unfazed, he continues.

"Not only will this insurance plan cover you, but it also covers your spouse and kids," he says. "If something terrible happens to you, then your spouse and your children will be covered and cared for as a part of this insurance plan. And if something happens to any of them, their medical bills and the cost of feeding, clothing, and housing them will be covered, too. Forever!"

"Not only that," he continues, "If you have a child with a birth-defect that requires lifelong care, this insurance plan will cover all the medical expenses – and all the cost of living expenses – for your child from birth to death, even if your kid lives to 90 and you're long gone."

The sales pitch sounds too good to be true. An insurance plan that covers you, your spouse, and your kids for life?! Including living expenses? And even if it is all true, it must cost a fortune, right?

You're about to ask the salesman the important question, "Well, how much does it cost? 500 bucks a month? A thousand? Two thousand?"

And then it dawns on you. You don't need this insurance plan. You already have it. It's called Social Security. You and every other American, from birth to death, already have it, and the best part about it is that it's completely free!

Even if you're just getting out of school and never worked a day in your life, and thus never paid any payroll taxes, you still have this vital insurance. You're "entitled" to it from the moment you're born until the day you die – which is why it's called an "entitlement."

But now the bad news. There are people in America today who want to take that insurance policy away from you and give it to their billionaire buddies on Wall Street. In Dwight Eisenhower's day, we would have referred to these people as "stupid," just as Eisenhower did. But today, these people run the Republican Party, people like Paul Ryan, John Boehner, Marco Rubio, and Eric Cantor.

Even worse, retired political hacks like Catfood Commissioners Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles – two guys who now charge $40,000 an hour in speaking fees, are pushing hard to kill Social Security by handing it off to Wall Street. Even though Social Security is sitting on a $2.7 trillion surplus.

Fortunately, their efforts to cut or privatize Social Security aren't working. According to a new poll by the Pew Research Center, Americans age 30-49, by a margin of 52% to 35%, believe preserving Social Security Insurance is more important than reducing the deficit.

And younger Americans share the sentiment. By a margin of 48% to 41%, Americans from 18 to 29 believe preserving Social Security Insurance is more important than deficit reduction.

But don't expect the polls to slow down the Republicans and Catfood Commissioners. If they can whip up enough phony fear, and convince enough younger Americans that their retirement is in jeopardy, then they might even succeed in turning over Social Security Insurance to Wall Street.

Banksters like Lloyd Blankfein and Jamie Dimon are drooling at the chance to get their grubby hands on those trillions and go buck wild in the markets with it – skimming billions off the top in fees.

And once Wall Street gets their hands on Social Security Insurance, then you actually will be meeting insurance salesman in loud ties, hustling the very same "Disaster Insurance Plan" that you have right now for free. Only this time, they'll charge you lots of money for it.

The fear-mongering over Social Security Insurance, led mostly by extremely rich people, is the biggest scam being run right now in American people. Spread the word!

This article was first published on Truthout and any reprint or reproduction on any other website must acknowledge Truthout as the original site of publication.

Want to Buy Lifetime Disaster Insurance?

Senator Marco Rubio. (Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr)Let's say you're in your twenties, and just starting out in life. And one day an insurance salesman walks up to your doorstep, toting his briefcase and wearing a cheap suit and a loud tie. He rings the door bell, smiles like a televangelist, and says, "Have I got a deal for you!"

He's pushing a brand new insurance plan. He calls it "Lifetime Disaster Insurance."

"For the rest of your life, you'll be covered whether you're a teenager, in your twenties, thirties, whatever age," he says. "This insurance protects you against anything. If you're disabled in a car accident, a mugging, or any other sort of horror, this insurance policy will kick in and cover all of your medical expenses, your rent, food, and pretty much everything else from the time you're injured until the day you die, even if you live to 100!"

You look at him skeptically, but, unfazed, he continues.

"Not only will this insurance plan cover you, but it also covers your spouse and kids," he says. "If something terrible happens to you, then your spouse and your children will be covered and cared for as a part of this insurance plan. And if something happens to any of them, their medical bills and the cost of feeding, clothing, and housing them will be covered, too. Forever!"

"Not only that," he continues, "If you have a child with a birth-defect that requires lifelong care, this insurance plan will cover all the medical expenses – and all the cost of living expenses – for your child from birth to death, even if your kid lives to 90 and you're long gone."

The sales pitch sounds too good to be true. An insurance plan that covers you, your spouse, and your kids for life?! Including living expenses? And even if it is all true, it must cost a fortune, right?

You're about to ask the salesman the important question, "Well, how much does it cost? 500 bucks a month? A thousand? Two thousand?"

And then it dawns on you. You don't need this insurance plan. You already have it. It's called Social Security. You and every other American, from birth to death, already have it, and the best part about it is that it's completely free!

Even if you're just getting out of school and never worked a day in your life, and thus never paid any payroll taxes, you still have this vital insurance. You're "entitled" to it from the moment you're born until the day you die – which is why it's called an "entitlement."

But now the bad news. There are people in America today who want to take that insurance policy away from you and give it to their billionaire buddies on Wall Street. In Dwight Eisenhower's day, we would have referred to these people as "stupid," just as Eisenhower did. But today, these people run the Republican Party, people like Paul Ryan, John Boehner, Marco Rubio, and Eric Cantor.

Even worse, retired political hacks like Catfood Commissioners Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles – two guys who now charge $40,000 an hour in speaking fees, are pushing hard to kill Social Security by handing it off to Wall Street. Even though Social Security is sitting on a $2.7 trillion surplus.

Fortunately, their efforts to cut or privatize Social Security aren't working. According to a new poll by the Pew Research Center, Americans age 30-49, by a margin of 52% to 35%, believe preserving Social Security Insurance is more important than reducing the deficit.

And younger Americans share the sentiment. By a margin of 48% to 41%, Americans from 18 to 29 believe preserving Social Security Insurance is more important than deficit reduction.

But don't expect the polls to slow down the Republicans and Catfood Commissioners. If they can whip up enough phony fear, and convince enough younger Americans that their retirement is in jeopardy, then they might even succeed in turning over Social Security Insurance to Wall Street.

Banksters like Lloyd Blankfein and Jamie Dimon are drooling at the chance to get their grubby hands on those trillions and go buck wild in the markets with it – skimming billions off the top in fees.

And once Wall Street gets their hands on Social Security Insurance, then you actually will be meeting insurance salesman in loud ties, hustling the very same "Disaster Insurance Plan" that you have right now for free. Only this time, they'll charge you lots of money for it.

The fear-mongering over Social Security Insurance, led mostly by extremely rich people, is the biggest scam being run right now in American people. Spread the word!

This article was first published on Truthout and any reprint or reproduction on any other website must acknowledge Truthout as the original site of publication.